Electric Cars

By Maria Merano Posted on September 27, 2023 Mercedes-Benz announced plans to launch its Level 3 automated driving technology in the United States by the fourth quarter.  The luxury automaker received approval for its Level 3 automated driving technology, Drive Pilot, in California and Nevada. Drive Pilot received approval in California before Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology.  “Drive

Tesla is going into a critical trial today over a death that reportedly happened in an Autopilot crash. The result of the trial could have an impact on the legal outcomes of other similar incidents. Starting today, the trial is taking place in California’s Riverside County Superior Court over a civil lawsuit brought by Micah

The smart-charging Flo Home X5, and its non-smart sibling, the Flo Home G5, have been two of the top-selling electric vehicle chargers in North America since their introduction in 2016. For the first two years, the Canada-based company only sold the chargers to Canadian customers and began US sales in 2018. I reviewed the Flo Home

By Maria Merano Posted on September 26, 2023 Tesla Magic Dock Supercharger installations are rapidly ramping up in the United States, based on data from a community-run, open-source website. The Magic Dock Supercharger ramp enables more non-Tesla vehicles to use Tesla Supercharger stations across the United States.  According to supercharger.info data, Tesla has been steadily increasing Magic

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee

Ford Motor Company has halted construction of its $3.5 billion battery cell plant in Marshall, Michigan, effective September 25. The automaker cited concerns about its ability to competitively run the plant at a time when it is engaged in broader contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union. The decision comes after months

By Simon Alvarez Posted on September 24, 2023 Tesla shared a rather impressive update on its Optimus program over the weekend. In a short video posted on social media, Tesla demonstrated some of Optimus’ current capabilities, such as its self-calibration procedures and its ability to sort items using a vision-based system.  Tesla also demonstrated how

The US battery energy storage market added 5,597 megawatt hours (MWh) in the second quarter of 2023, a new quarterly record. The grid-scale segment of the industry drove the market with a record-breaking 5,109 MWh in Q2, beating the previous record in Q4 2021 by 5%, according to Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power

Tesla is gradually expanding its non-Tesla Supercharging pilot in North America, recently opening the first station in Alaska for CCS1-compatible electric vehicles. The site in Chugiak, near Anchorage, is now equipped with V3 Supercharging stalls with Magic Dock built-in CCS1 adapters. The company wrote that “This Supercharger is open to Tesla vehicles and Non-Tesla vehicles with

By Zachary Visconti Posted on September 23, 2023 U.S. President Joe Biden says he’ll head to Michigan next week to support the United Auto Workers (UAW) strikes against Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis. Biden says he’ll head to Michigan on Tuesday to support the workers on strike, as announced in a post on X

Elon Musk reveals that Tesla has a ‘performance Cybertruck’ – indicating that it could be one of the first versions of the electric pickup truck. Tesla is on the verge of delivering the first Cybertruck. Despite the automaker having produced likely hundreds of trucks and being about to start deliveries, there’s still a lot we

California-based bicycle brand Santa Cruz is popular for its capable mountain bikes, and has been a staple in the industry for decades now. Like all major bike brands, Santa Cruz has hopped in full force on the e-bike bandwagon. We previously talked about the brand’s lightweight and practical electric gravel bike, and this time around,

By Simon Alvarez Posted on September 21, 2023 Tesla may be planning something special for the Model 3 Performance “Highland” update. While the vehicle is yet to be released, a European Type Certificate from the RDW suggests that the upcoming all-electric sedan will feature a rather unique electric motor setup.  The Tesla Model 3 Performance

It’s been a tough few weeks for electric bike recalls, with the latest coming from major bicycle manufacturer Trek. The company announced a recall of all Allant+ 7 models with Tektro brakes due to a risk of brake hose malfunction. In this case, the problem isn’t in the brake itself, but rather in the way

If you’re among the rapidly shrinking group of people that still underestimate Chinese automakers, you probably need a reality check, and BYD’s newest launch is as good as any. China’s largest EV maker has officially unveiled the Yangwang U8 Premium Edition in China, following a preview earlier this year. Marketed under BYD’s high-end sub-brand Yangwang,

By Maria Merano Posted on September 20, 2023 The United States Federal Communications Commission recently approved Starlink’s two new dish designs. One of the new Starlink dishes was a mini version made to be more portable for customers.  According to SpaceX’s FCC application, the Starlink mini dish’s measurements are 11.4 inches by 9.8 inches. SpaceX

Canadian solar cell and panel maker Silfab Solar is opening a flagship $150 million solar cell factory in South Carolina. The 785,000-square-foot factory’s annual production capacity will include 1 gigawatt (GW) of cell production capacity and 1.2 GW of additional panel production capacity. Silfab Solar’s York County factory is expected to create more than 800 jobs.

Tesla has introduced a powered liftgate retrofit for the Model 3 on its online shop. Priced at $800 including shipping to the customer’s preferred Tesla Service Center and installation, the powered liftgate retrofit enables owners of older Model 3 sedans equipped with a manual liftgate to open and close the rear liftgate with the touch of

By Maria Merano Posted on September 18, 2023 The Hyundai Ioniq 6 won the Insurance Institute for Highway’s (IIHS) 2023 Top Safety Pick+ award. The Genesis Electrified GV70 and the Lexus RZ also won 2023 Top Safety Pick+.  “To be environmentally friendly, our vehicles and our cities also need to be pedestrian-friendly,” said Harkey. “All

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee

Volkswagen Group reportedly plans to stop making ID.3 electric vehicles at its plant in Dresden, Germany. According to sources cited by Automobilwoche, the decision to end Volkswagen ID.3 production in Dresden is part of a cost-cutting drive by CEO Oliver Blume, although the publication did not say when production will end. The plant, which opened

By Zachary Visconti Posted on September 17, 2023 Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in New York on Sunday. Reports say that the two discussed a range of topics, and Erdoğan apparently encouraged Musk to build Tesla’s next Gigafactory in Turkey. The meeting took place at the Turkey

Tesla has announced that it has produced its 5 millionth electric car this week – a milestone that many nayswyers thought impossible not so long ago. I’ve been reporting on Tesla long enough to remember the days where most people in the auto industry thought Tesla would never be more than a niche manufacturer, and

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has added three model year 2023 electric cars to its Top Safety Pick+ award list: Genesis Electrified GV70, Hyundai Ioniq 6, and Lexus RZ 450e. The IIHS examines a vehicle’s crashworthiness, which entails how well it protects occupants in a crash, and avoidance and mitigation, which highlights the

By Zachary Visconti Posted on September 15, 2023 Volkswagen faces mounting pressure to keep up with Tesla and Chinese automakers in the transition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), and its success in doing so could have major implications. During the pandemic, Volkswagen fell behind in the Chinese auto market as companies like BYD, Nio, and Tesla

Elon Musk pushed to use Tesla’s internal driver monitoring camera to record video of drivers’ behavior, primarily for Tesla to use this video as evidence to defend itself from investigations in the event of a crash, according to Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the Tesla CEO. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk is out, resulting

Tesla has removed the Texas-built, entry-level Model Y AWD trim from its online configurator in the United States. As usual when something like this happens, the company hasn’t provided an explanation for the move. Known simply as the Model Y AWD or the Model Y from Texas – not Standard Range or Long Range –

By Simon Alvarez Posted on September 14, 2023 Tesla has posted photos of its commemorative 50,000th Supercharger stall. Coated in what appears to be Ultra Red paint, the 50,000th Supercharger has captured the interest of the electric vehicle community. Needless to say, the hunt is now on to locate the special charger.  Tesla has previously

At the recent launch of its new BEV factory, Toyota vowed its next-generation electric vehicles will deliver longer range and faster charging at a lower price. The Japanese automaker now says its new EVs, due out in 2026, will feature nearly 500 miles of range. At a technical briefing in June, Toyota revealed several new

Rivian produces and sells some of the most rugged and audacious EVs on the market. Targeting an audience of individuals looking to take their vehicles on adventures, Rivian offers its vehicles with three feet of wading depth and optional camping accessories. While all of this is great, there is a need for charging locations in